Discussion

Porter & Frye (MPLS)

Any recommendations for P&F??? This will be our first trip........someone in my last posting urged me to get the tasting menu (which we'll probably do), but I was curious to see what people had to say. Thanks in advance!

That was me who suggested P&F in your previous post. I don't know that you'll get too many responses here. It doesn't seem that many of us have eaten there yet. And I haven't seen anyone else refer to their tasting menu. The reviewers love it, though. Dara cites it in Minnesota Monthly in her "bests" listings. Scroll down to "Best Big Birthday Bash." Her experience is like mine has been:

I haven't got into writing about my dining experiences before - but I wanted to say that P&F was outstanding!! One of the best meals that we've had in a long time....the food was very impressive and when you take into account the ambiance, service, etc...my wife and I compared it to similar experiences like Bouley (NYC), Blue Hill (NYC), La Belle Vie, and Maestro (DC). We went with the 7 course tasting menu for $95....the restaurant itself was a bit slow, (as in only about 5 other tables) so our server explained that "the kitchen was planning on having a bit of fun with us and try a few different items." And I honestly can't say that I was remotely disappointed with anything.....lets see if I can remember everything that we had:1. Apple Ravioli (apple within an apple gelee "wrapper")2. Duck w/ cabbage puree3. Foie Gras Torchon with maple & thyme (much more in depth than I describe)3. Tagliatelle w/ Black truffle4. Croque Monsieur w/ truffled honey & berry jam5. Lobster with Veal tongue6. Rabbit 7. Cod w/ truffle (i believe that they said this was on the menu)8. Mint-chocolate Sorbet9. 7-layer chocolate cake w/ salted caramel ice cream

....and yep, sure enough - i'm forgetting two.....If I can think of them or have a bit more time to update my very lame descriptions, I will. But I wanted to say thanks for the advice on the tasting menu......we had an absolute blast enjoying the food & wine, meeting the crew, and -- just having a great night out. I dont' think that I can recommend Porter & Frye enough!!! Go there ASAP!!!

I'm so happy that your experience was a good one. You might be interested to know that my wife and I last did their tasting menu no more than 3 weeks before you did. And they served mostly different dishes. The kitchen is constantly creating and experimenting. That's what we love about it...the guys love to do cartwheels back there, and we get the benefits of it!

Those slow nights are maybe the best, because then the young guns like Josh and Eric have more time to come out with the dish and explain it a bit. We love that interaction and developing relationship with the chefs.

My only concern is that the economy will take P&F down. So I'm trying to talk it up whenever I can!

Reading Dara's 'Best Restaurant' article in Minnesota Monthly opened my eyes to the absurd talent that is at P&F right now. I didn't realize the incredible pedigree of their sous chefs. I can't wait to try out their creations.

You know what's fun? The guys in the kitchen are having a sort of competition with the tasting menu. At the end of our second tasting menu meal, Josh came out and was interested in what we thought of the dishes. We noticed some faces peering out of the kitchen and asked him. He said that they do want to know which of of their creations we liked most. This was Doug's, this was Eric's, this was Josh's, etc. It's a blast!

Josh actually posts a lot of photos on Flickr, along with the story behind their creation. Take a look...

They certainly do, upstairs, but I would still recommend sitting in the dining room-- they have out of the way tables- don't worry about burning a 2-top, and the dining ambience and attention is better.